“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.  What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store?  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”  -- Dr. Seuss 
 
With inches, upon inches of snow on the ground, I think it is safe to say it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  This is my favorite time of year and as I keep reiterating, I have so many blessings this holiday season to be thankful for, and the title of Miss Wayne County is one of them.
 
With the last three weeks being a whirlwind with WDIV Local 4, I have not had time toreflect upon my last few appearances, which I want to make note of.  On November 29th, I had the privilege of volunteering at The Pink Door.  The Pink Door is a non profit breast imaging funding resource for the uninsured and underserved that is focused on providing quality breast imaging at locations convenient to the women and men they serve.  It was wonderful to have Samantha Steckloff, Miss Oakland County 2007, there to share in the holiday festivities.  She is a remarkable young woman that our organization is lucky to have!
A few days later, December 1st, was the 41st annual Wayne-Westland Junior Miss Program.  This is where my pageant journey truly began, and it is always so heart warming going back each year to the show.  America's Junior Miss is the oldest and largest scholarship program for high school senior girls in the nation, awarding nearly $90 million in cash scholarships since its establishment.  Junior Miss strives to give every young woman the opportunity to further her education and prepare for a successful future, which is exactly what it did for me.  I am so proud to congratulate Raven Rickard, Wayne- Westland's Junior Miss 2008.  Raven is the daughter of my lifelong dance instructor and is very deserving of the title.  I will be there rooting for her at the state level in March!  I also want to congratulate Carol Baker on her first and successful year as the WWJM director.

The weeks following Junior Miss were consumed with training at WDIV; however, I was able to squeeze in a very important appearance benefiting Children's Miracle Network.  On Friday, December 14th, I joined Kirsten Haglund, Miss Michigan 2007 along with several other local titleholders at a Radio/Telethon for Devos Children's Hospital.  It was wonderful seeing our beautiful Miss Michigan once again before she heads off to represent our state at Miss America.  I truly cannot wait to go to Las Vegas to cheer her on.  She is an exceptional representative that we should all be very proud of.  Volunteering at this event was extremely touching.  Listening to callers tell their stories about how CMN has impacted their child's life really put things in perspective for me.  The partnership between CMN and MAO can create incredible opportunities for deserving children in our state.  I want to thank Devos and Shelley Taylor for extending this invite to me.
 
Appearances are now winding down for the holidays.  I do have an exciting month planned for January, which includes working the Auto Show and going to Miss America.  I want to wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season, as well as a happy new year!
 
Happy Holidays,
 
Ashlee

I first have to thank everyone for the outpour of support these last few weeks.  Holidays are always a time to reflect upon family and friends, and this holiday season my eyes have been opened more than ever to what a blessing it is to have you all in my life.  I feel that the word "grateful" simply isn't strong enough for how I feel.
 
I know the results last night were not what we were all hoping for, but honestly, I have always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.  The experience I gained throughout this process was truly priceless, and as many of you know, my number one goal is to be Miss Michigan.  There is nothing (besides family and health) that I want more this upcoming year, and I am hoping this opportunity not only taught me skills for my future career in broadcasting, but also skills that will make me a better ambassador for MAO.  Paula Tutman pulled me aside after the announcement and said, "If you win Miss Michigan, we better be the first station to interview you!"  Although that comment may seem minuscule to some, I felt like I had accomplished something major:  positive media around MAO!  I know it hasn't been easy being labeled a "beauty queen," but I will say that many Channel 4 staff members were asking me about my pageant experience, and I was able to tell them the difference between MAO and Miss USA as well as all the wonderful scholarship opportunities and friendships I have gained throughout my pageant endeavors.  I truly feel I was able to educate them and even change their image of what a "beauty queen" is.
 
Bob Ellis (the news director) asked to personally speak with me last night after the announcement.  He informed me how close the decision was and that there is not a doubt he can get me a job with another station affiliated with Channel 4.  He is putting a demo disc together for me to send out.  So you never know what other opportunities can arise from this.  Thank you so much for voting for me!  I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday!
 
Much love,
Ashlee

You can vote on the home page: www.clickondetroit.com  >> Poll: Who Should Be Local 4's New Traffic Reporter?  Or you can click here to go directly to the online voting.  If you want to watch my live audition, click here.
 
I was very excited to see that Channel 4 put a link to the Miss Wayne County website in the article about me.  What great PR for the MAO and MWC organizations!
 
Also, I will be interviewed on 96.3 WDVD between 8:30am-9am on Monday!  So stay tuned...
 
Thanks you for all your support!
-Ashlee

Yesterday could not have went any better!  I was at WDIV at 6am to watch the morning newscast and start my one-on-one training with Beth McLeod.  Everyone at the station has been so incredibly kind, and I feel as if I am already part of the Channel 4 family.  This opportunity has been such a blessing.  Now that I have some down time before the announcement, I will fill you in on what all has happened these last few days... 

So as everyone knows, I was announced into the top four Monday evening.  I was totally not expecting to make that cut!  I almost started crying when Paula called my name.  It became such a whirlwind.  Right after they announced us, they rushed us out of the station to go to Macy's at Oakland Mall for a "makeover" with Channel 4's fashion expert.  We started in Macy's Premier Salon, where they put a little product in my hair to make it shine.  No cuts or color or anything drastic!  We then went to the Estee Lauder counter for make-up tips!  All of us finalists have become such good friends that they had Cephus (the only male finalist) put powder on my face!  It was really cute. Then they had us go for wardrobe tips.  For those of you who saw the story they aired about me yesterday... I did not take the "tip."  A purple turtleneck under a red suit does not illustrate "Ashlee" very well!  haha.  I just stayed with simple and sleek (but of course red!).                              
 
That night I came home and had very little time to prepare for my big audition day (the next day) and only slept a few hours.  I arrived at WDIV at 6am and trained from 7-9am.  I hurried home to meet my parents where the camera crew came to shoot a profile of me.  I was so impressed with how Paula edited the piece.  I think she truly portrayed the Miss America Organization wonderfully and highlighted my passions for breast cancer and dance.  It has been very difficult being labeled a "beauty queen" as an occupation.  Obviously, that was out of my control!  You have to love television!  These last few weeks, I have had to wear the "reporter hat" and having the experience of wearing the crown has been the best expereince for the job I could have!  Although I am extremely proud of all my pageant accomplishments, the average TV viewer does not understand the complexity and intellect behind MAO, so I have really had to walk a fine line of how I portray myself to the viewers, since this is a job interview everytime I am on camera.  I need all the votes I can get!!!  :-)